Sketch and Speak: An Expository Intervention Using Note-Taking and Oral Practice for Children With Language-Related Learning Disabilities.

Purpose This preliminary study investigated an intervention procedure employing 2 types of note-taking and oral practice to improve expository reporting skills. Procedure Forty-four 4th to 6th graders with language-related learning disabilities from 9 schools were assigned to treatment or control conditions that were balanced for grade, oral language, and other features. The treatment condition received 6 30-min individual or pair sessions from the school of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Treatment involved reducing statements from grade-level science articles into concise ideas, recording the ideas as pictographic and conventional notes, and expanding from the notes into full oral sentences that are then combined into oral reports. Participants were pretested and posttested on taking notes from grade-level history articles and using the notes to give oral reports. Posttesting also included written reports 1 to 3 days following the oral reports. Results The treatment group showed significantly greater improvement than the control group on multiple quality features of the notes and oral reports. Quantity, holistic oral quality, and delayed written reports were not significantly better. The SLPs reported high levels of student engagement and learning of skills and content within treatment. They attributed the perceived benefits to the elements of simplicity, visuals, oral practice, repeated opportunities, and visible progress. Conclusion This study indicates potential for Sketch and Speak to improve student performance in expository reporting and gives direction for strengthening and further investigating this novel SLP treatment. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7268651.

A qualitative case study in the social capital of co-professional collaborative co-practice for children with speech, language and communication needs.

BACKGROUND: Effective co-practice is essential to deliver services for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The necessary skills, knowledge and resources are distributed amongst professionals and agencies. Co-practice is complex and a number of barriers, such as 'border disputes' and poor awareness of respective priorities, have been identified. However social-relational aspects of co-practice have not been explored in sufficient depth to make recommendations for improvements in policy and practice. Here we apply social capital theory to data from practitioners: an analytical framework with the potential to move beyond descriptions of socio-cultural phenomena to inform change. AIMS: Co-practice in a local authority site was examined to understand: (1) the range of social capital relations extant in the site's co-practice; (2) how these relations affected the abilities of the network to collaborate; (3) whether previously identified barriers to co-practice remain; (4) the nature of any new complexities that may have emerged; and (5) how inter-professional social capital might be fostered. METHODS & PROCEDURES: A qualitative case study of SLCN provision within one local authority in England and its linked NHS partner was completed through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with professionals working with children with SLCN across the authority. Interviews, exploring barriers and facilitators to interagency working and social capital themes, were transcribed, subjected to thematic analysis using iterative methods and a thematic framework derived. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: We identified a number of characteristics important for the effective development of trust, reciprocity and negotiated co-practice at different levels of social capital networks: macro-service governance and policy; meso-school sites; and micro-intra-practitioner knowledge and skills. Barriers to co-practice differed from those found in earlier studies. Some negative aspects of complexity were evident, but only where networked professionalism and trust was absent between professions. Where practitioners embraced and services and systems enabled more fluid forms of collaboration, then trust and reciprocity developed. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: Highly collaborative forms of co-practice, inherently more complex at the service governance, macro-level, bring benefits. At the meso-level of the school and support team network there was greater capacity to individualize co-practice to the needs of the child. Capacity was increased at the micro-level of knowledge and skills to harness the overall resource distributed amongst members of the inter-professional team. The development of social capital, networks of trust across SLCN support teams, should be a priority at all levels-for practitioners, services, commissioners and schools.

[New aspects of neurorehabilitation: motor and language]. / Neues zur Neurorehabilitation: Motorik und Sprache.

Advancements in medical care over the last decades have contributed to a continuous decline in immediate post-stroke mortality. The flipside of this development is that patients surviving the initial stroke are forced to live with sometimes extreme functional motor and/or language limitations for the remaining life span. The following overview presents evidence-based neurorehabilitative interventions to promote motor and language recovery in the acute and chronic post-stroke stages. Therapeutic approaches comprise intensive training, neuropharmacological drugs and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or direct current stimulation (tDCS). Additionally, an outlook on promising future interventions for stroke neurorehabilitation is provided.

Health-Related Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents with Specific Language Impairment: A Cohort Study by a Learning Disabilities Reference Center.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with specific language impairment (SLI). STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective sample at a Learning Disabilities Reference Center, proxy-rated HRQOL (KIDSCREEN-27) was assessed for children with SLI and unaffected children from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. Quality of life predictors for children with SLI were evaluated by recording the length and number of speech therapy and psychotherapy sessions and the specific school organization that the children had participated in. The KIDSCREEN scores of the two groups were compared using nonparametric statistics. RESULTS: The questionnaires were completed by the parents of 67 children with SLI and 67 unaffected children. For children with SLI, the mean HRQOL scores were significantly lower for physical and psychological well-being, autonomy and parent relation, social support, and school environment compared to the reference group, controlling for age and parental education (ß = -6.7 (-12.7;-.7) P = 0.03, ß = -4.9 (-9.5;-.3) P = 0.04, ß = -8.4 (-14.2;-2.6) P = 0.005, ß = -11.6 (-19.5;-3.7) P = 0.004, ß = -7.1(-12.4;-1.7) P = 0.010, respectively). Multivariate analyses in the group of children with SLI found that children who had undergone psychotherapy sessions or who had been enrolled in specific schooling programs had reduced HRQOL scores in social support and school environment and that children who were in a special class had higher scores in physical well-being. CONCLUSION: Children with SLI had significantly lower HRQOL scores as compared to unaffected children. Measurement of HRQOL could serve as one of the strategies employed throughout the follow-up of these individuals to provide them with the most appropriate and comprehensive care possible.

Training a new generation of speech-language pathologists with competences in the management of literacy disorders and learning disabilities in Hong Kong.

One of the recent developments in the education of speech-language pathology is to include literacy disorders and learning disabilities as key training components in the training curriculum. Disorders in reading and writing are interwoven with disorders in speaking and listening, which should be managed holistically, particularly in children and adolescents. With extensive training in clinical linguistics, language disorders, and other theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the best equipped and most competent professionals to screen, identify, diagnose, and manage individuals with literacy disorders. To tackle the challenges of and the huge demand for services in literacy as well as language and learning disorders, the Hong Kong Institute of Education has recently developed the Master of Science Programme in Educational Speech-Language Pathology and Learning Disabilities, which is one of the very first speech-language pathology training programmes in Asia to blend training components of learning disabilities, literacy disorders, and social-emotional-behavioural-developmental disabilities into a developmentally and medically oriented speech-language pathology training programme. This new training programme aims to prepare a new generation of SLPs to be able to offer comprehensive support to individuals with speech, language, literacy, learning, communication, and swallowing disorders of different developmental or neurogenic origins, particularly to infants and adolescents as well as to their family and educational team.

Transcranial direct-current stimulation induced in stroke patients with aphasia: a prospective experimental cohort study.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Previous animal and human studies have shown that transcranial direct current stimulation can induce significant and lasting neuroplasticity and may improve language recovery in patients with aphasia. The objective of the study was to describe a cohort of patients with aphasia after stroke who were treated with transcranial direct current stimulation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective cohort study developed in a public university hospital. METHODS: Nineteen patients with chronic aphasia received 10 transcranial direct current stimulation sessions lasting 20 minutes each on consecutive days, using a current of 2 mA. The anode was positioned over the supraorbital area and the cathode over the contralateral motor cortex. The following variables were analyzed before and after the 10 neuromodulation sessions: oral language comprehension, copying, dictation, reading, writing, naming and verbal fluency. RESULTS: There were no adverse effects in the study. We found statistically significant differences from before to after stimulation in relation to simple sentence comprehension (P = 0.034), naming (P = 0.041) and verbal fluency for names of animals (P = 0.038). Improved scores for performing these three tasks were seen after stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that excitability of the primary motor cortex through transcranial direct current stimulation was associated with effects on different aspects of language. This can contribute towards future testing in randomized controlled trials.

[Home-based rehabilitation in the functional recovery of patients with cerebrovascular disease]. / Rehabilitacion domiciliaria en la recuperacion funcional de los pacientes con enfermedad cerebrovascular.

INTRODUCTION: The study of the effectiveness of rehabilitation treatment applied to patients with sequelae following a cerebrovascular disease (CVD) plays a decisive role nowadays in planning their management in public healthcare and to improve existing guidelines regarding assessment and treatment. AIM: To describe the characteristics presented by patients who have suffered a CVD and were treated in mobile rehabilitation-physiotherapy units (MRPU) and how such treatment affects their functional recovery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Descriptive, prospective study conducted on 124 patients referred to the MRPUs in the province of Almeria between 2008 and 2011. The variables analysed (both pre- and post-treatment) included personal history and characteristics, Barthel index, Modified Ashworth Spasticity Scale, pain (shoulder) and the Canadian Neurological Scale. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 106 participants (mean age: 73.72 years). The disabling process was ischaemic in 77.4% and hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor (81%). The mean initial Barthel index was 31.04 and the mean final index was 57.62 (t = -11.75; p < 0.001). The Canadian Neurological Scale showed a favourable progression in the level of consciousness, orientation and language (p < 0.001). Altogether 56.2% of the patients were discharged as a result of the improvement of their condition, and did not require any further outpatient rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained reflect an important functional improvement in patients treated in the MRPUs. Home-based rehabilitation is considered a necessary tool for persons with greater clinical vulnerability and no access to outpatient care, which provides them with the benefits of effective treatment.

TITLE: Rehabilitacion domiciliaria en la recuperacion funcional de los pacientes con enfermedad cerebrovascular.Introduccion. El estudio de la eficacia en los tratamientos de rehabilitacion aplicados a pacientes con secuelas tras una enfermedad cerebrovascular (ECV) resulta decisivo en la actualidad para planificar su abordaje desde la sanidad publica y mejorar las directrices de evaluacion y tratamiento existentes. Objetivo. Describir las caracteristicas que presentan los pacientes que han sufrido ECV atendidos por las unidades moviles de rehabilitacion-fisioterapia (UMRF) y como influyen estos tratamientos sobre su recuperacion funcional. Pacientes y metodos. Estudio descriptivo prospectivo en 124 pacientes derivados a las UMRF de la provincia de Almeria entre 2008 y 2011. Se analizaron variables (pre y postratamiento) como las caracteristicas y antecedentes personales, indice de Barthel, escala de espasticidad de Ashworth modificada, dolor (hombro) y escala neurologica canadiense. Resultados. La muestra final estuvo compuesta por 106 participantes (edad media: 73,72 años). El proceso discapacitante fue isquemico en un 77,4%, y la hipertension, el factor de riesgo mas prevalente (81%). La media del indice de Barthel inicial fue de 31,04, y la media del indice final, de 57,62 (t = ­11,75; p < 0,001). La escala canadiense mostro una evolucion favorable en el nivel de conciencia, orientacion y lenguaje (p < 0,001). El 56,2% de los pacientes recibio alta por mejoria, sin precisar rehabilitacion ambulatoria adicional. Conclusiones. Los resultados obtenidos reflejan una importante mejora funcional en los pacientes tratados en las UMRF. La rehabilitacion domiciliaria se plantea como una herramienta necesaria para las personas con mayor vulnerabilidad clinica y sin acceso a los cuidados ambulatorios, que logra los beneficios de tratamientos que son efectivos.

Enhancing communication through gesture and naming therapy.

PURPOSE: In this study, the authors investigated whether gesture, naming, and strategic treatment improved the communication skills of 14 people with severe aphasia. METHOD: All participants received 15 hr of gesture and naming treatment (reported in a companion article [Marshall et al., 2012]). Half the group received a further 15 hr of strategic therapy, whereas the remaining 7 participants received no further input. The effects of therapy on communication were assessed with 2 novel measures. These measures required each participant to convey simple messages and narratives to his or her communication partner. In both assessments, a subset of the stimuli featured items that had been targets in gesture or naming treatment. RESULTS: Performance on the communication measures was stable over 2 baseline assessments but improved after gesture and naming treatment. Those participants who received additional strategic therapy made further gains on the message but not on the narrative task. Communication gains were not specific to the stimuli featuring trained items. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that gesture and naming treatments can benefit interactive communication. The additional benefits of strategic therapy were less clear-cut but did have an impact on the transmission of simple messages. Gains seem to reflect the development of general communication skills rather than the use of trained gestures and/or words.

Science-based practice and the speech-language pathologist.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a well established concept in the field of speech-language pathology. However, evidence from research may not be the primary information that practitioners use to guide their treatment selection from the many potential options. There are various alternative therapy procedures that are strongly promoted, so clinicians must become skilled at identifying pseudoscience from science in order to determine if a treatment is legitimate or actually quackery. In order to advance the use of EBP, clinicians can gather practice-based evidence (PBE) by using the scientific method. By adhering to the principles of science, speech-language pathologists can incorporate science-based practice (SBP) into all aspects of their clinical work.

[Exploration of the auditory system in humans: From click to speech auditory brainstem responses]. / Exploration électrophysiologique des voies auditives sous-corticales chez l'humain : du clic au son de parole.

There is a growing and unprecedented interest in the objective evaluation of the subcortical processes that are involved in speech perception, with potential clinical applications in speech and language impairments. Here, we review the studies illustrating the development of electrophysiological methods for assessing speech encoding in the human brainstem: from the pioneer recordings of click-evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABR), via studies of frequency-following responses (FFR) to the most recent measurements of speech ABR (SABR) or ABR in response to speech sounds. Recent research on SABR has provided new insights in the understanding of subcortical auditory processing mechanisms. The SABR test is an objective and non-invasive tool for assessing individual capacity of speech encoding in the brainstem. SABR characteristics are potentially useful both as a diagnosis tool of speech encoding deficits and as an assessment tool of the efficacy of rehabilitation programs in patients with learning and/or auditory processing disorders.

Clients becoming teachers: Speech-language pathology students' understanding of rehabilitation following clinical practicum in a rehabilitation setting.

There has been limited research investigating the conceptual development of rehabilitation in speech-language pathology (SLP) students. The aim of this study was to describe SLP students' understanding of rehabilitation following completion of a clinical practicum in a rehabilitation setting. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach according to grounded theory methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 SLP students who had completed a practicum in a rehabilitation setting. Interview data analysis revealed the emergence of five axial categories. Clients becoming teachers was identified as the core category, as the notion that clients were fundamental to students' understanding of rehabilitation occurred reliably throughout the data and related to all other categories. A theoretical model was proposed that demonstrated successive levels of support to students in the acquisition of their understanding of rehabilitation on practicum. Students' understanding of rehabilitation was derived from client-related interactions and factors experienced on practicum in rehabilitation settings. Rehabilitation practicum provided students with a rich and complex learning environment that may facilitate the development of the "core skills" identified for rehabilitation practice.

Rhythmic motor entrainment in children with speech and language impairments: tapping to the beat.

In prior work (Corriveau et al., 2007), we showed that children with speech and language impairments (SLI) were significantly less sensitive than controls to two auditory cues to rhythmic timing, amplitude envelope rise time and duration. Here we explore whether rhythmic problems extend to rhythmic motor entrainment. Tapping in synchrony with a beat has been described as the simplest rhythmic act that humans perform. We explored whether tapping to a beat would be impaired in children for whom auditory rhythmic timing is impaired. Children with SLI were indeed found to be impaired in a range of measures of paced rhythmic tapping, but were not equally impaired in tapping in an unpaced control condition requiring an internally-generated rhythm. The severity of impairment in paced tapping was linked to language and literacy outcomes.